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Think Like a Man and Grow Up

Believe the hype. Kevin Hart is golden. That’s not what this is about but I just wanted to get that out there. Think Like a Man explored a lot of aspects from getting your college boyfriend to grow up and propose, to what it’s like to date a mama’s boy – and that’s what we’re going to focus on. Terrence Jenkins’ Michael was perfect on paper. He had a job, a beautiful smile and was considerate. In case you missed it a second ago – he was the movie’s resident mama’s boy. Which isn’t too bad if the guy is independent and his relationship with his mom doesn’t verge on Norman Bates. That wasn’t the case for Michael though. His mom did his laundry, he spent too much time with her and the cherry on top was the fact that he not only spent the night there once a week, but it was in his room that looked like he’d died in an accident when he was 12. Thank you 21 Jump Street for that reference and for noting how weird it is when parents have shrines of their kids.

While Michael seemed just right for Regina Hall’s Candace – she just couldn’t shake his attachment to his mom, and the room. Imagine finding that perfect someone, finally meeting their parents and then walking into a room in that house that gives you an inside look into what the person you’re seeing was like as an adolescent. Baby pictures in the halls are fine, them having a key to their parent’s house – now that’s normal, but when they want you to crash on their old twin bed with poster that’s a decade old – that’s when you shivers start to creep up the back. Especially since you know they have their own place. You’ve been there. You’ve met their roommates. You’ve slept in the bed of an adult.

She was a legit grown up ya’ll. With her life together, and managing to take care of another human being – her son, she likely thought he wasn’t mature enough to be in her life. What kind of woman wants a man who is still seen as a child by their own mother? Plus, having that permanent place in his mom’s place sent a message her way that he wasn’t ready to fully grow up. He has a hold of his past there, when he’s in that room he’s transported back to a time when he didn’t have real responsibilities. That most likely scared her and caused her to turn to Steve Harvey for help. You can’t date someone who is biologically grown, but is mentally 10 and still controlled by their parents.

Spoiler alert – Michael later stood up to his mom, and Candace became his number one. It wasn’t until he showed her that he could be there for her and be a man, that she was comfortable falling in love with him. Also, like we’ve seen with this week’s survey, a lot of adults say they keep this room at their parents to make them feel less alone. In Think Like a Man, Michael’s mother wasn’t really that lonely. She had her gentlemen callers, but it was interesting that she felt like she had to hide her relations from her son. That circles back to the idea that parents need to have space to regain who they were before they were simply just “mom” and/or “dad.” Both Michael and his mother grew strides when they realized he needed to move on a bit. Spoiler alert number two – mom makes a grand return in the sequel and wants to steal the limelight at their wedding.